Object relations deficits in schizophrenia: a cross-cultural comparison between Brazil and the United States

Object relations deficits are commonly found in schizophrenia samples from the United States, but it is unknown whether these deficits are a reliable finding in other cultures. The Bell Object Relations Inventory was translated into Brazilian Portuguese and administered to 61 stable outpatients with schizophrenia from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Their scores were compared with a Brazilian normal sample and with a matched U.S. schizophrenia sample. The Brazilian normal sample showed a pattern of scores within the normal range when compared with U.S. norms. The Brazilian schizophrenia sample had significantly greater pathology than the Brazilian normal sample on Alienation, Egocentricity, and Social Incompetence. Their mean scores on Alienation were similar to the matched U.S. schizophrenia sample, and they had significantly greater pathology on Insecure Attachment, Egocentricity, and Social Incompetence with 85.6% showing some type of object relations deficit. Findings support the cross-cultural validity of the Bell Object Relations Inventory and the ubiquity of object relations deficits in schizophrenia. The most common profiles for both schizophrenia samples were the Psychotically Egocentric and the Socially Withdrawn object relations types.